Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Surprise Beijing Visit Sparks Global Interest Amid US-China Tensions

US President Donald Trump's China Visit: Nvidia Co-Founder Jensen Huang Joins the Delegation

US President Donald Trump's China visit is gaining momentum, with the addition of Jensen Huang, co-founder of Nvidia, to the delegation. Until Tuesday, Huang's name was not included in the list of attendees, despite his company's significant contribution to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom through its cutting-edge chips. Nvidia, which has identified the Chinese market as a $50 billion opportunity, is pushing for greater leeway in the market.

Huang, the chief executive officer of Nvidia, was spotted boarding the presidential plane on the tarmac, and Trump later confirmed his attendance on social media. The US President expressed his enthusiasm for having business leaders like Huang and others as part of the delegation, stating that he would ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to "open up" China, allowing these brilliant individuals to work their magic and help take the country to a higher level.

However, there was confusion surrounding Huang's last-minute addition to the trip. White House spokesman Steven Cheung explained that Huang's schedule changed, and it just happened to work out. According to a person familiar with the matter, Trump called Huang this morning and asked him to join the trip, and Huang flew to Anchorage to meet Air Force One on its planned layover.

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Nvidia's shares extended gains to more than 3% in after-hours trading, following the news of Huang's attendance at the summit. The company's concern is whether Trump will raise any specific concerns with Xi Jinping, particularly regarding the approval for Chinese customers to buy Nvidia's advanced H200 AI chips. These chips, used to train and run models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, have always required Washington's permission for export to China due to US concerns that the technology could boost China's military capabilities.

Huang is among several US business leaders accompanying Trump on his 36-hour pow-wow with Xi Jinping, which is expected to cover various topics, including the war in the Middle East, tariffs, and the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Other notable attendees include Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook, Tesla Inc.'s Elon Musk, Boeing Co.'s Kelly Ortberg, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s David Solomon.